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Amt/Ertl Star Wars reissue?


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This evening I stopped at my friendly local hobby retailer for supplies... And was greeted by a shelf full of Amt/Ertl Star Wars kits. Other than the web address printed on the box, they looked much like the ones I remember from my youth.

Not that this is entirely a good thing (the shortcomings of the Amt/Ertl kits are well-known) but they're there.

When did this happen? Was there some announcement that I missed?

What a time to be alive...

http://www.rcertl.com/brand/amt/2005/pm_star_wars.shtml

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What are the flaws with the AT-ST? Some day I want to get one.

But if it's anything like the crappy quality of the ISD, no thanks. The ISD doesn't even have parts MADE to fit each other. The parts are actually designed so they don't like up at all. Just a horrible mold, is my guess.

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Might get me a Snowspeeder again, not a bad kit IMHO, last built one when I was 14 :lol:

Are they re-released like the other kits?

The B-wing only came out as part of the AMT/MPC SnapTight set IIRC

:thumbsup:

MikeJ

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The last time the B-Wing was offered, it was indeed part of the gift set. But originally when it came out for Jedi, it was offered in its own box. There was also a gold plated B-Wing kit offered seperately, but the price was rediculous for what it was.

The reissues will be ongoing with more stuff coming out closer to the movie. But, it appears that the A-Wing and Y-Wing will not be on the list (and I want to shoot the smegger who decided to offer the snap X-Wing again as that mold is really tired IMHO). I don't think the big ProShop lighted X-Wing will be offered again either, although I would love to see it come out without the electronics and at a more manageable price.

You guys may like the A-Wing kit (and it is indeed a good kit), but the Y-Wing was my personal favorite of the snap kits. It needed some tweaks added in terms of detailing to the sides and the guns, but I felt it was a sound model overall. Thank goodness I stockpiled some as I don't think FineMolds will ever do one at this point.

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Jay

I have two of the Y-Wings in my stash, but never the B-wing :wacko:

I will probably only get the Snow Speeder and then save/buy the TIE Interceptor and TIE fighter from Fine Molds.

Their X-wing is most fine!

:cheers:

MikeJ

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Yeah Mike, figures you would have a couple Y-Wings since the last kit run of that model was intended for the overseas markets like Australia (same with the A-Wing). I had to search long and hard to find my Y-Wings. As for B-Wings, let me do some checking as I might have a line on one of the original B-Wing kits that I might be willing to sell to you or trade out for something.

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Yeah Mike, figures you would have a couple Y-Wings since the last kit run of that model was intended for the overseas markets like Australia (same with the A-Wing). I had to search long and hard to find my Y-Wings. As for B-Wings, let me do some checking as I might have a line on one of the original B-Wing kits that I might be willing to sell to you or trade out for something.

Jay

Sounds great!

Looking forward to hearing from you :worship:

:cheers:

MikeJ

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So which of the AMT kits are any good?

My son is a Star Wars fanatic, and has built the X-wing, and I'd maybe like to hook him up with a few more.

And, no he's not getting any Fine Molds stuff, thats for me. :banana:

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Well, here is my list of AMT/Ertl (including MPC issued kits) that I consider pretty good.

1. X-Wing-the original X-Wing kit is still the best of all X-wing kits issued by MPC and AMT (Finemolds still way better though).

2. Darth Vader's TIE Fighter-also a pretty nice one in its own right

3. TIE Fighter 2 set- two excellent kits in one box, use the cockpit from one in an Estes Vader's TIE and you can have Vader's attack wing. Also same scale as the snap TIE Interceptor, making a wing swap easy for a better looking Interceptor model.

4. Snow Speeder- pilots look like monkeys, but the kit is okay otherwise.

5. Snap B-Wing- best detailed of the snap line

6. snap Y-Wing- a little simplified detail-wise, but easy to build and details up nice with a little TLC.

7. snap A-Wing-do it as a glue kit and it builds nice, but replace the pilot figure with one from the snap TIE Interceptor for a correct looking A-Wing pilot.

8. Millenium Falcon- Builds up well enough, but suffers from some shape and accuracy problems. Cutaway kit the same as the standard kit, except it includes the interior section.

9. Encounter with Yoda- A nicely sized diorama with reasonably well detailed figures. Good for figure work.

10. Vinyl Darth Vader- Maybe a little difficult for a kid, but the best detailed Vader AMT/MPC did. Avoid the styrene Vader kits like the plague.

Well, those are the top ones I know about from personal experience. But most kits in the line can be built without too many problems. Only one I would really avoid would be the snap X-Wing as it is very crude by today's standards and the Star Destroyer for its fit problems (although I had no trouble building mine when I was a kid). This list of 10 probably provides the best bang for the buck to a Star Wars fan. But, if you have access to FineMolds kits, I wouldn't deny your youngster the opportunity to do one some day as they are truely a fun experience to build. Order them through HLJ and they won't cost much either.

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8. Millenium Falcon- Builds up well enough, but suffers from some shape and accuracy problems. Cutaway kit the same as the standard kit, except it includes the interior section.

I've got bits and pieces of a Falcon kit that I inherited from a friend who started building it and gave up. My own view is that the kit really isn't that good. The surface details are crude, but what really gets me is the shape: It's noticeably flatter when compared to the ship as it appears in the movie.

Just my two cents. (The kit I inherited is missing key parts anyway, so I'm probably going to kitbash it into something else.)

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Be careful, I bought the AT-AT kit with my son tonight and all of the parts were not included. Talk about one bummed-out 5yr old! He's a SW fanatic and was REALLY into this kit.

Missing were the end of the sprue with the legs and turrets, so the kit does not contain enough parts for the rebel ground turrets and no 'face' for the AT-AT.

We'll be taking it back tomorrow to exchange.

Hopefully the other one on the shelves has all the parts.

Mike

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To help out with the Falcon kit I have a long shot. If you want go look for the Nov/Dec 1997 issue of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Models magazine. It has a really good article about updating and accurising the AMT/Ertl kit. The update pretty much requires using two of the kits so you can make it an Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi Falcon with the extra set of forward landing struts. Eventhough I have two of these kits I have just been using the article to make improvements to the original tricycle gear Episode IV New Hope Falcon. Have been working on this particular model since 2000 but the upgrades and changes it suggests do help the look of the model alot (well of the ones I have finished). The pictures in the article show using the upgrades make it look more thick and bulky like movies show.

:wave: maybe you will find it;

Kiowafixer

:cheers:

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